The Obvious Crush
by rosiemunch
Summary: Natsu and Lucy are best friends and team mates, but inside they're both at war with feelings that are growing between them.
1. Chapter 1: Fishing

**NATSU**

Man, today was boring. Gray was too busy being harassed by Juvia to fight, Erza is out on a quest, Lucy and Levy went out... somewhere, Cana just sat and drank with her new drinking buddy from Wild Four (or is it Quatro Puppy?), and I'm just sat in the guild eating candle flames.

"Hey Natsu, you wanna go fishing with me?" Happy piped up. Hmm, seems like a distraction from nothingness.

"Sure little buddy, we'll catch a big one and share it! I'm fired up now!"

"Aye, Sir". Making Happy happier makes me happiest. My little pal, its nice watching him grow up, spending time together, getting stronger. Maybe someday, I'll sprout wings of my own? It happened to that guy who became Achnologia, right?

"Natsu, you're day dreaming again!"  
>"Oh, sorry Happy, I was thinking about flying"<br>"You mean with me?"  
>"Kinda", it's not a lie, but I get the feeling Happy might be offended if I say I was thinking about getting my own wings. I think he likes me depending on him in that area.<p>

"Lucy and Levy are back!" Happy announced. We were just on our way out, but seeing them made me lose enthusiasm to leave. Gajeel appeared from behind me.  
>"Gee hee" He did the creepy laugh, I guess that means he's happy to see Levy? I don't get what she sees in old Metal Face, but whatever, they are nice together I suppose.<p>

"Seems they're back early" He said, voice low and oddly aggressive, despite the fact he was being pleasant.

"Y-yeah" was about all I could say

"Natsu's in loooooove" Happy taunted.  
>"As long as it ain't with Levy I couldn't care less." Gajeel replied. It sounded like he was being harsh, but really he was just marking his territory, like when a dog pees on a tree stump. Thinking about this made me want to laugh out loud, but I stifled it.<p>

"I ain't after your girl and you know it, Metal Face."  
>"I guess you like the blonde bimbo type, Flame Brain."<br>By this point the girls were in earshot.  
>"Who's a blonde bimbo, Gajeel?" Levy questioned; accusing tone coupled with a stern look.<p>

"Gee hee, I was just teasing Natsu about a girl he likes." Shut. Up. Gajeel.  
>"Oooh, anyone we know?" Lucy asked, oblivious – which is probably for the best. Everyone just kinda looked at her, then looked at me, laughed and walked on. Gajeel and Levy side by side, her hanging on his arm and smiling contentedly. I wish I had something like that with-<p>

"Hey, Natsu! Come ooooon you said we would go fishing and catch a giant fish for us to share". Oh Happy, I really don't want to right now...

"Oh yeah, sorry pal. Uh, see you later everyone. Catch up with you later, Lucy?"  
>"Oh, okay sure. You want to come and look through some assignments with me later?" She asked.<p>

"Mm" I nodded, a little too enthusiastically. She smiled, and I hid my blushing face. What has gotten into me? Lucy's my friend! I can't... I won't...

Happy grabbed me and we flew to the river. The water there was still and I dipped my hand in just to watch the ripples move across the water surface. Happy handed me a make-shift fishing rod and held his own, casting into the water with a contented look on his little blue face.

"You should tell her you like her, Natsu."

"Who?"

"Don't be obtuse, you know who I mean."

"Happy, we're just really good friends. There's nothing there."

"Natsu, she clearly likes you. Just think back to the grand magic games. Think about it. She told you she believes in you and since then she blushes everytime you compliment her and do nice things for her. What I wouldn't give for Carla to look at me that way..." A little sad tone toward the end of the sentence made me realise how grown up he'd become.  
>"Fine."<p>

"'Fine' what?"  
>"I'll confess to her"<p>

"Y-you will?" Happy's eyes turned toward me, glowing with awe. What did I say to merit that? Its only confessing to Lucy. Only... confessing to... Lucy.

"Actually on second thought, no"  
>"What? Why?"<p>

"I've got nothing to confess. I'm just getting a little confused because we've spent so much time together lately." A convincing statement to say the least. Surely that's where this feeling is coming from. Over-familiarity.

"I'm not convinced, Natsu. But, if you're sure that's the case then I guess I can't argue."

We sat in silence for a while after that. Then, **TUG**

"Hey I've got a bite, Happy!"

"Yay, way to go! Now pull it in!" It was heavy, it was gonna be a big fish. With a few pulls on the line and a final tug, I pulled in the biggest cod I have ever seen.  
>Happy and I, sat and gorged ourselves on the fish until we were fit to burst.<p>

"I'm so full. Happy, can you roll me back to the guild?"

"No, I'm more full than you."

"Natsu?" Lucy's voice came from behind the starlit trees, dusk had fallen and the sun was just a sinking red blob in the far distance.

"Oh, hi Lucy. You came just in time, me and Happy have become too fat to walk home." She laughed and prodded my expanded stomach with the end of one of our fishing rods. Once upon a time, Lucy would have scolded us for being gluttons, but now I think she just finds it funny.

"I came to see where you went, I figured it would be somewhere around here." She was beginning to learn where me and Happy go when we want to get away, I found it sweet that she even cared. But that's what friends do, right?

"So, uh, did you want some of our fish? There's not much of it left..." Happy said, reluctantly offering to share his precious fish. He MUST be fond of Lucy too.

"Actually, I just ate." Lucy answered quickly, I don't think she liked the thought of taking Happy's fish. "Thank you, though. Natsu, did you want to come over to mine for a bit? I took notes on some of the jobs that are available at the moment and I thought maybe we could talk through them and pick one together...?" Was she asking me... over to her place...? I couldn't remember if she's ever **invited **me before.

"Sounds like an idea." I replied with a grin.

"Well, Natsu, I wanna go home so... you can go with Lucy without me, right?" Huh? What's Happy leaving for?

"Uh, sure. You not feeling well little buddy?"

"Um... I... um... ate too much fish." Is he being honest with me? I don't get it.

"Well, okay. You just go home and rest up."

"Take care of Natsu for me, Lucy." Oh. I get it, he want's me to confess to Lucy. The little rat! Can't give it away in front of her though...

"I will Happy don't worry!" She called after him as he flew off. "It's nice how much he cares for you."

"Heh. Yeah." More like sets me up...

"You okay? You wanna go home too? I won't be offended. You did eat an entire fish..." Oh no I gave her the wrong impression.

"No, no I'm fine! Your place is it? Let's go!"

**Well here is my first Chapter of "The obvious Crush". Its just a way to get my brain into gear and I love writing. Plus fairy tail is awesome. Now, I know that I do a lot of short sentences, but that's mostly for effect because a human brain tends to think like that. I think I switched tenses a lot depending on the thought process. Let me know what you all think. Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

**More Chapters to follow **


	2. Chapter 2: Truth or Dare

**LUCY**

My heart was thumping inside my head. I don't know what's come over me lately, but being around Natsu just makes me feel like a flickering candle next to a roaring fire. Tiny and insignificant. I guess he's just so strong that it makes me feel comparatively weak. I wanted to pick a job with him so that we could work together and I could feel equal to him again. But then, I like him being better than me. He has so much heart and cares for so many people that his magic is literally fueled by not wanting to let down those he loves. We walked beside one another in silence for a while until I could hear my own brain creaking from the awkwardness.  
>"So, uh, you haven't really done much since the grand magic games, have you, Natsu?" What a rubbish question.<p>

"Oh I've just been resting. I wanted to take on a few more jobs, but I think I haven't seen a good one recently. Saying that, I haven't really bothered looking at the board." He replied, in a very honest manner, but I could tell something was plaguing him.

"Something on your mind?" I asked.

"No, I'm just thinking about something that Happy said earlier." His eyes were focused on the pavement and he wore a frown which normally meant he was deep in thought, which from experience, is potentially dangerous. I decided not to press the subject.

We came to a stop outside my apartment and, turning the key, I let us both in. It was still warm inside from the heat of the day and Natsu immediately made himself at home by sprawling out on my bed.

"Hey! Just because I invited you over doesn't mean you get to lay on my bed. Have some respect for my house!" I spurted at him. As always though, he didn't seem to care. Instead, he got off my bed and started spinning around on my desk chair. I couldn't help but smile at his completely innocent cuteness, despite him being a nuisance, it was still endearing to see him have fun just by being in my house. Simple things please simple minds I guess.

I pulled out my notebook and cleared my throat.

"Okay here goes," I said and Natsu stopped fiddling with my belongings immediately and plonked himself down next to me. "Help needed to get rid of mouse infestation – 50,000J."

"That sounds boring." He groaned, looking at his feet.

"Yeah, but it could end up being not boring, like that time we had to get rid of that thing the village said was a mole, that clearly wasn't a mole and I nearly had to marry the damn thing."

"Pahahaahaa." Natsu laughed, fits of giggles based on a memory we shared. It wasn't the best job we went on, but it certainly wasn't boring.

"On second thought," I said, voice low, "lets look at another job."

Natsu continued laughing as I flicked through my notes looking for details of a different job.

"Oh hey how about this one?" I asked, stopping on a page. "Magic wielding judges needed to host event, male and female, with quirky personalities – successful mages will be both judging and hosting a talent contest for the young wizard show of the year. Reward 600.000J"

"What's the young wizard show?" Natsu enquired.

"It's where kids up to the age of 12 get to show off their magic skills and based on audience and judge votes a winner is decided." I'm surprised he's never heard of this.

"Heh, we should get Romeo and Wendy to enter it."

"Aww that would be adorable. Although technically Wendy is 19. She's still 12 because of what happened on Tenrou island."

"Yeah, that still makes my brain hurt."

"So what do you say, you wanna be a Lacrima Vision star?"

"We already are Lucy after the grand magic games."

"An opportunity to milk our fame!"

"Milk what now?"

"Never mind." Natsu never understands turns of phrase like that, so I shouldn't be surprised.

"Well now, that we've picked a job I guess I'll go home" Natsu said suddenly, opening the window to let himself out.

"NATSU! Happy isn't here! You'll hurt yourself if you leave out the window!"

"Oh... yeah I guess I wasn't thinking. Although it would probably take more than that to take me out" He grinned. Silly Salamander.

"Why don't you stay for a bit? We can play a game if you like."

"A GAME?!" Natsu's voice raised in his excitement. I don't know why I wanted him to stay. It was just nice to spend time with him casually, since we only see each other when working really, despite how fun that is, we don't just hang out. And now I had to think up a game fast.

"Uh, yeah its a... truth or dare."

"You wanna play a dare game? With the great Fire Dragon Slayer? There isn't a dare I haven't won."

That was terrifyingly believable.

"No I said TRUTH or dare, meaning you can chose between fulfilling a dare or telling a secret/answering a personal question."

"I'm fired up! Who goes first?"

"You can go first if you come in and close my window." I sighed and he obeyed swiftly closing the window behind him and sitting cross legged on the floor opposite me.

"Ok Lucy, Truth or Dare?" Oh man, why am I playing this with Natsu of all people. Then again, at least we're not playing it with Erza, Gray and Juvia. That would not end well. All I could picture is Juvia daring Gray to kiss her and Erza making Gray and Natsu do horrible things.

"Truth"

"Ah going for the safe option?"

"Just ask the question, Natsu."

"Ok lemme think... I got it! Ehem: Do you have a crush on someone from our Guild?" He asked grinning curiously. Great. He had to ask. Well, I have to answer honestly, that's part of the game.

"Yes."

**Oh no! A cliff hanger. Well, everyone knows who it is that Lucy likes... except Natsu. How far is this game going to escalate? **


	3. Chapter 3: Jumping the Gun

**NATSU**

Yes? Yes?! I was expecting her to say no and then go on to name some random famous dude I've never heard of. My mood suddenly turned sour, even though I have no idea why.

"Hmph. Well who is it?!" I said, coldly. She blushed and that just made me more annoyed. After a few seconds of silence, I gave up.

"You know what, don't tell me. I think I know who it is." Her eyes opened wide, of course I knew it was obvious.

"Its Loke isn't it?" I said, "Well I hope you two will be very happy together."

"Natsu, don't just jump to conclusions!" She said, still not denying it. Figures.

"It's okay Lucy. Anyway, I need to go see Happy. He'll come searching for me if I don't head home soon."

"Oh... okay... have I said something wrong?" Lucy's face was sad. Probably because I figured out her little secret. I'm so smart sometimes.  
>"Don't worry Lucy I won't tell anyone about you and Loke."<p>

"I NEVER CONFIRMED THAT, DIMWIT!" She spurted. No one would react like that if it wasn't true. I forced a grin.

"Well goodnight" I smiled, opening the window and leaping to the ground, running home as fast as I could. She called after me, but I was long gone.

You know, I kinda hoped Lucy would like me. But she doesn't. I know she doesn't. Besides, she's too mean to me. I stopped running after a while and walked slowly. Hands behind my head thinking about the blush on her face when I asked her who she liked. Urg. I wish I hadn't asked. She probably summons Loke all the time from the Celestial Spirit world and does who knows what with him. That thought hurt but I don't know why. Is it because when Loke was around, we would fight? Is it because he hits on every girl he comes into contact with? I can't let him be like that with Lucy, it would hurt her feelings. I'll make him sorry the day he makes her cry. Then I realised I was home. It's weird how sometimes when you day dream while walking, you seem to teleport to your destination.

"Happy! I'm home!" I called, kicking off my shoes.

"Natsu!" He responded, chirpy as always. "Did you tell her how you feel?"

"Of course I didn't! I told you, there was nothing to tell. Besides, I figured she's in love with Loke."

Happy closed his eyes and sighed. "Did she tell you that or did you just jump to that conclusion?"

"It's obvious they're going out! I can't believe I didn't put two and two together. I mean, he's always talking about his love for her when he shows up and saying they should get married." I ranted, biting back tears of frustration. "If he hurts her I'll kill him."

"Natsu, unless she outright says that she's going out with Loke, I don't think you should assume that she is. What brought this on anyway?"

"She said she has a crush on someone in our guild. In that case, lets make that our mission! Find out who Lucy has a crush on." determination sparked within me. If not Loke, then who the hell could it be?

"Aye!" Happy echoed my determination loyally.

"Okay it's settled then. Starting tomorrow we are going to be secret agent super spies and figure out who it is!" It made me feel better to think I could find out the answer. No point in asking Lucy who it is though, she'd never tell.

"Did you pick a job by the way?" Happy asked. Oh yeah that's why I went to Lucy's in the first place.

"Yeah it was some competition thingy."

"Descriptive as always. How much is the reward?"

"600,000 Jewels."

"Oh yeah, now we're talking."

"I don't remember any more about it though so lets talk to Lucy about it in the morning."

"Aye aye!"

And with that, my night ended, with Lucy on my mind. WHO could it be?!

**A shorter chapter from Natsu's perspective. Typical flame brain jumping to conclusions! Find out what Lucy makes of all this in the following Chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4: Awkward if you make it

**LUCY**

I stayed sat in that position for about an hour, going over in my head what just happened. He asked if I had a crush in the guild, I said yes, he flipped out and jumped out the window. I sighed a long deep sigh. I can't tell him that HE'S the crush, but why did he just assume it was Loke? And why would that make him angry? I'm not good with dealing with these emotions.

I stood up after a while and began to pace the room. Did Natsu react that way because he likes me and immediately got jealous of whoever he thought I liked? That makes sense I guess. Man, I wish he wasn't so dense. It's just a little crush anyway, nothing to write home about. I just like how he always wants to protect me, how he gets jealous when I go on quests without him, how he finds ways to make me smile when I'm sad... Oh man, I think I might even love-

Stop it Lucy! This is Natsu we're talking about. The oblivious Fire-breather who only ever has beating up the nearest rival on his mind! There's no way he likes me. He only thinks in black and white. I doubt he even knows what love is.

"Dammit" I sighed to myself, laying back on my bed and covering my face with a pillow. Why did I want to play truth or dare with Natsu? I mean, what did I expect would happen? It could have gotten way out of hand and my house probably would have ended up being burnt down. I frowned. I picked truth because I was scared he'd dare me to do something mental, but I didn't realise he would ask me that. Who asks that? I guess people know that I've never had a proper boyfriend and **everyone** knows I skipped out on a date to go on a mission with Natsu and Happy. I guess seeing him look all forlorn made me feel bad.

Are we in love with each other?! I sat bolt upright. My heart pounding in my head and my hands shaking. I thought about it a little longer, shook my head and dismissed the thought entirely. I laughed to myself. What a silly thought. If anything, Natsu and I are just best friends who work well together on missions. Still, I just hope he doesn't act weird with me tomorrow. It doesn't matter that he knows I have a crush, as long as he doesn't know its on him. It'll go away after a while I bet, its probably just because I've spent so much time with him lately.

I better get some rest. We need to apply to that competition together tomorrow morning.

The next day I woke up feeling groggy, kinda like I'd been running all night in my sleep. I tumbled out of bed in a rather ungraceful manner and stumbled to the bathroom. Staring at myself in the mirror I noticed I had dark circles under my eyes. Concealer it is. I can't believe how badly I slept. I guess the whole 'Natsu' situation was on my mind all night. It's so ridiculous how I lost sleep wondering if the reason he flipped out was because he likes me. I don't think Natsu is actually deep enough to think that far into anything. He probably just wants an excuse to fight with Loke. I washed my face and got dressed, clipping my keys and whip onto my belt before stepping out into the early morning sun.

It was refreshing to feel the warmth on my skin coupled with a soft summer breeze that flowed through my hair. I needed to apply for that job with Natsu. It wouldn't be awkward unless I made it awkward. I stepped into the guild hall and took a deep breath. Natsu wasn't there yet so I just made my way over to Levy and sat beside her and Gajeel.

"Hey Luce! How you doing? You don't look so hot." Levy said, chirpy as ever.

"Huh? No, I'm fine I just didn't sleep so great."

"Where's the Salamander?" Gajeel asked, grinning. I swear he knows too much about how I feel about Natsu.

"How should I know?" I snapped defensively.

"Did you guys have a fight" Levy worriedly asked.

"What? No not at all... I just don't keep tabs on him."

"Gra ha ha" Gajeel laughed his wicked laugh. What does he know?

"Anyway," I started, wanting to change the subject swiftly, "thanks for going shopping with me yesterday, Lev. I had fun" I smiled warmly and she smiled back.

"No problem." She had come to help me pick a few new outfits for colder missions, since I always end up calling Horologium when I'm cold and its really not fair on him.

"Oh look, here's old fire breath himself." Gajeel said in his usual mocking tone. Natsu walked in, Happy perched on his shoulder. He had a weird air of determination about him. Maybe he just wanted to get on with the mission.

"I better go. See you later Lev"

"Bye Luce"

"Right. Only awkward if I make it awkward. Only awkward if I make it awkward." I chanted to myself as I walked up to him.

**Okay here we go, chapter 4. Lucy is unsure of her feelings and of Natsu's too. Will she tell him in the end that her crush is on him? Or will he find out from his super awesome spy detective skills? Only one way to find out! Keep reading!**


	5. Chapter 5: Natsu, you idiot

**NATSU**

She was walking up to me with a weird look on her face, something half way between fear and sadness. I guessed she was still sore about last night.

"Hey Lucy! Are you ready to apply for our assignment?" I grinned, toothily. Just that question seemed to put her at ease and she smiled back, a very cute smile.

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" Her voice cheerful, reminding me of summer. Standing next to the board, we scanned it carefully, looking for the job we'd picked.

"Huh? It's not here" Lucy sounded forlorn and confused which made me feel guilty for reasons I couldn't quite comprehend.

"What are you looking for?" The sickly sweet sound of Mira-Jane's voice popped up from behind the bar.

"Wasn't there a competition quest?" I said, vaguely... but it was honestly all I could remember about it.

"Oh you're out of luck guys, Gajeel and Levy applied to do that one earlier. They said they were going after breakfast. Don't you think they'll be cute together?"

"That Jerk" I hissed. I didn't mean Levy, more of Gajeel steeling the limelight.

"Awh man" Lucy echoed my disappointment.

"What do you wanna do Natsu?" She looked at me attentively. I don't know why, but for the first time in forever, I really didn't feel like going on a job any more.

"How about we take the day off?" I offered.

"The day off?" she repeated.

"Yeah well, its Monday tomorrow so all the new jobs will be flooding in then. Why don't we sit today out and go do something else." It made sense. Lucy stared at me, long and hard.

"This isn't like you, Natsu."

"Well, maybe I don't feel like me today."

Silence broke out between us and Mira-Jane politely excused herself from the middle of the conversation, winking at me for reasons that only she must know.

"Why don't we, I don't know, go for a long walk or something." I suggested, looking at my feet, expecting her to say no.

**LUCY**

Was Natsu asking me on a date? He's not really acted this way before. He looked up from the clearly fascinating spot of floor he was examining and grinned.

"Besides," he said "I want to ask you something about last night." He did NOT just say that in front of everyone.

"NATSU! Don't say stuff like that, people will get the wrong idea!"

"Trouble in Paradise, you two?" Macao called from the back of the guild hall. I highly doubted that Natsu even knew what that meant...

"We were playing truth or dare and Lucy said she had a crush on someone from our guild, so I wanted to ask her about it. That's all. Nothing to do with paradise!" Natsu, you idiot. First of all, how can you be so dense? Second of all, don't announce personal things to the entire guild hall. It was an immediate knee-jerk reaction on my part; I punched him hard in the back of his head, sending him flying forward into Erza.

"Natsu, you jerk!" I cried, tears stinging my eyes. How could he be so stupid? I ran out of the guild hall aiming for home when someone caught my hand. It was Mira-Jane.

**NATSU**

"Natsu!" Erza's voice was low and filled with disdain. I could see a mushed strawberry cake on the floor. Crap... she's gonna kill me. She grabbed me by the hair and held me up so I was millimetres from her face. But then she said something that quite surprised me.

"Go apologise to Lucy." she breathed in an aggravated whisper. Then she launched me across the guild hall and out the door. Happy followed.

"I think she let you off easy, you know how Erza gets when you smoosh her cake"

"Yeah but now I need to find Lucy and make up with her otherwise I think Erza will actually break both of my legs."

"Aye..." Happy's distressed voice conveyed a fear only people who knew Erza would ever understand. We only walked a few steps before we saw Lucy. She was with Mira-Jane and fat tears were rolling down her cheeks. Happy and I hid behind a bush as soon as we spotted them, and I closed my eyes to zone in my hearing to their conversation.

"... so you see Lucy, I think you should tell him how you feel" Mira-Jane said, voice low and empathetic.

"It's just so difficult, I mean we work together all the time and if things don't turn out how you say, I won't be able to call for him when I need him." Are they talking about Loke? I KNEW it. Happy glanced up at me. My eyes were wide and my heart was pounding, I was finding out finally who Lucy had a crush on.

"You know Lucy, I think he would want to come on jobs with you anyway, besides, he obviously loves being with you, and the fact that he wants to find out who your crush is proves he cares."

… huh?! "Are they talking about me?" I softly whispered to Happy.

"Certainly sounds like it."

"Mira, I just, I think he's too much of an idiot for his curiosity to mean that he loves me. I think he just feels like he should know everything about me." Lucy's voice cracked like she was hurt inside.

"Yep, they're definitely talking about you, Natsu" Happy laughed.

"Who's there?" Mira turned and looked straight at me.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Happy and I yelled, trying to run away as quickly as possible, but we both just fell flat on our faces.

"Hm," Mira sweetly said, "I think you two need to talk." There was a look of horror on Lucy's face and I swallowed hard.

"Uh, so about that walk..." I started.

Lucy sniffed and rubbed her face, wiping away semi-dried tears. "Lets walk down to the lake together." she managed. "There's something I want to get off my chest."

**Well this chapter is a wee bit of a rollercoaster of emotions. But yay, they're finally gonna talk it out which is about time AND will stop so much awkwardness between them both. JUST KISS ALREADY!**


	6. Chapter 6: Never let me go

**LUCY**

I can't believe Mira-Jane convinced me to confess to Natsu! Now, we're walking along to the lake and I'm going to end up saying I like him... And then he'll laugh at me and act like the idiot that he is. My thoughts were gonna make me cry, so I goal-kicked them out of my head.

Natsu wore a worried look on his face and I pretended not to look at him, focusing instead on what I was actually going to say when we got there.

"Hey you guys, I think I'm going to head back to the guild." Happy said, looking sad.

"Are you okay, Happy?" I asked the tiny exceed. He just sighed.

"I think I should just leave you two to make up." He replied. Natsu remained silent and I nodded, so happy cast his wings and flew away. Natsu didn't even glance after him.

We rounded the corner and came to the wooded area by the lake. I sat down by the waterside and shyly inspected my reflection. My face was flushed from crying. Natsu didn't sit down but leant against a tree, looking away from me. He hadn't said anything the whole way there and I was starting to worry. Then, he spoke up.

"Why were you and Mira talking about me?"

"We... I... you made me cry."

"I didn't do anything!"

"Natsu I'm not here to argue with you." My tone was calm and collected but I could feel my face burning.

"You wanted to know who I liked, didn't you?" I half-whispered, looking at the clover-dotted grass beneath me. With that he was all ears, but still wore a sad, worried look.

"Who... who is it?" His words tumbled out, eyes wide and his hand was on my shoulder. Does he really take my feelings this seriously?

I sighed. Trying to piece together a story that would make him figure it out himself.

I began: "Once upon a time, a girl wanted to be a celestial spirit mage. She worked hard to get strong enough to join a certain guild, but had no idea how to go about joining. One day she stumbled across a wicked prince, who promised her passage into the guild if she would do his bidding. Desperate to be a member of this certain guild, she agreed in a heart beat. But, out of the blue, she was shown the wicked prince's true intentions by a boy with pink hair." Natsu began to blush, I think he was getting it. I continued: "He was the true prince and saved her from the wicked prince's evil lair. That day, he took her hand and asked her to go with him. She said yes because, she knew that this prince would one day be... her true love." I stopped talking, letting the words sink in to Natsu's head. Yes, that day. It was that day when the sparks first started to fly and time had just proven it. I had spent so many days lying to myself. But if I can't be honest with me, who could I ever really be honest with?

Natsu's eyes were locked on mine. I was waiting. Waiting for him to laugh, to ask me if I was kidding. But instead he took my hand in his.

"Lucy, I don't know anything about love or girls or feelings. But I do know this, I don't feel as happy with anyone else than when I'm with you." He looked serious. I couldn't believe it. I took a few seconds to process the gravity of what he just said.

"So," he finally continued, "I think I might love you."

"Don't say that unless you mean it."

"I'm deadly serious." And he was. I could see the earnest in his eyes. I could feel tears pricking my eyes and wave of relief washed over me like a calming, receding tide.

"I love you too, Natsu." Our foreheads pressed together, my hand in his. I could hear both of our heartbeats, drums of our own private parade. I wanted to sit like this forever.

"So... it's not Loke then?" He half laughed.

"I can't believe you actually thought that by the way. I'm still slightly offended." I teased. We giggled, the cool night air making us shiver. I boldly kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, for confessing to me." I warmly smiled. His whole face matched his hair and he looked a little spooked.

"S... sorry, I didn't mean to go too fa-" He stopped my apology in its tracks by pressing his soft, warm lips against mine.

"You just surprised me that's all," he grinned. "But now I got you back!"

"NATSU! Don't use kisses as punishment!" He laughed, clearly giddy about our newly blossoming romance.

"That was my first kiss." He grinned his big, 100 watt grin. "I wanted to give that to you." He wasn't good at conveying sentiments, but that one act meant so much to me that my cheeks reddened and tears sprang from no where.

"EHHHH! I'm so sorry Lucy I didn't mean to make you cry!"

I smiled. "Idiot, these are happy tears."

"I'll never understand girls" he sighed, shuffling closer to me and scooping me up in his arms. He held me for so long I thought time might have stopped just for us, so that we could keep this moment forever.

"It was my first kiss too..." I mumbled into his chest, "and I want to give you many more, forever. I.. if that's okay..." I could feel his arms tighten around me.

"I was hoping it wouldn't just be tonight." He replied. Vague, but honest and I knew exactly what he meant. My Natsu... Never let me go.

**WOOOOOOO! Finally! Okay this is the second to last chapter in this story, but I intend to continue their relationship on in a new series. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it 33**


	7. Chapter 7: New Beginning (End)

**NATSU**

This was all happening so fast. An hour ago I wouldn't have ever imagined I would be here, holding Lucy close to me. I could feel her breath on my chest. Warm, humid breaths that were slow and peaceful. I'd never felt this way about someone before and I never thought that someone would feel this way about me. All I've ever been good at is breaking things.

Lucy shifted in my arms and peered up at me, brown eyes glistening in the setting sun.

"So, what do we tell the others?" She asked. I hadn't thought about what other people would think.

"That's easy," I said "just tell them that we're in love and that's it."

"So... like we're dating?" a hopeful tone which sounded sweet coming from her.

"Sure, why not?" I smiled.

Then I heard a rustling, turning round immediately to determine the source.

"What's wrong?"

"I heard something." I whispered, craning my head to lock onto the sound. But there was more rustling, behind another tree. Then another. Then, a familiar voice.

"Well I guess you two made up huh, Natsu?" Happy appeared from behind the nearest tree.

"Happy?! What are you doing here?"

"Well when I told the guild where you were going and why, we wanted to check and see if you were okay."

"What? Wait, who's 'we'?" I asked. Then, Mira-Jane appeared from behind the second tree, Gray and Juvia were behind her with Gajeel and Levy. Then Elfman, Lisanna and Evergreen came into view and Erza stepped in front of them. Everyone gradually emerged from where they were hiding and Lucy and I stood there, stunned.

"What are you all doing here? Can't a guy get a break?!"

"Come now, Natsu." Master Makarov said, "You know as a family we always look out for each other. We just wanted to make sure you and Lucy got on okay. But it seems you got on more than 'okay'." He grinned, accusingly.

"Well looks like the cat's out of the bag" I coolly said, addressing everyone. "Well now you know, I love Lucy, and from now one, we'll be going on more jobs together!" I grinned

"Natsu, we were already a team before hand!" Lucy hurriedly corrected me. "He means..." she cleared her throat. "That we are now not only a team, but we are a couple."

A roar of cheering erupted from the entire guild gathered at the lakeside.

"Why don't you kiss for us?" Erza pressed, and I feared for my life if I didn't comply.

"We're not performing monkeys, Erza!" Lucy protested, but I took her by the waist any way looking deeply into her eyes and silence suddenly shrouded us.

"It's not a performance, Lucy. This is the real thing." I closed the gap between her lips and mine. It wasn't like our first kiss, not shy and full of inexperience. It was longer softer and filled with adrenaline. Cheers broke out again and we were suddenly both swept off our feet, being carried on a crowd of guild mates, singing and yelling. But over all of them, you could hear Juvia shouting with determination: "Gray, my love, the next kiss shall be ours!" while Gray loudly protested.

With Lucy by my side, everything will be all right. I just know it. She looked at me as we were both being carried towards our guild and we knew, this was the beginning of a new path in our lives in Fairytail

The End.

**Well that's it for this series, but stay tuned for more fairytail fanfics from me. I have a lot lined up so be patient, but most importantly keep reading! **


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